Founded in 1994, the Porto-based Parfois is one of the most successful
brands in the accessories market. The company currently operates 900 stores
across 65 countries, and aims to reach the mark of 1,000 stores by the end
of the year. FashionUnited spoke to Susana Coerver, Parfois’ Director of
Marketing and Communication about the brand’s expansion plans.

What is your expansion strategy?

We’ve entered several new markets over the past year, including the
Netherlands, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Mauritania, Algeria, Mexico, Costa Rica,
Ecuador and Honduras, as well as joining Alibaba’s Tmall Global
platform.

This year, expanding in Latin America is our most important goal. We
plan on opening 11 more stores in Mexico and entering a new market in the
region. We also plan to consolidate our presence in the countries where we
already operate, and explore expansion possibilities in Eastern Europe and
Asia.

But it’s not just about opening new stores. Making sure there are new
items in store every week is a huge priority for us, as we aim to offer
customers what they want right away. We’re also constantly working on
improving the design and quality of our products.

We also focus on social media, striving to always improve our content.
We work with a significant amount of influencers, whom we call “Parfois &
Friends”.

Where does Parfois manufacture its products?

Most of them are made in India and China, but we also manufacture
accessories in Cambodia, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, Taiwan and Turkey.

What are your future projects in Europe?

Portugal and Spain represent more than half of Parfois’ revenue. Spain
is by far the biggest market, both in terms of sales and points of sale. We
have a strong presence in the large cities, so now we aim to expand in
smaller municipalities.

France and Italy are part of our action plan. We currently operate 70
shops in France, and 40 shops in Italy, of which three are new shops in
Milan. We’ve recently opened new stores in Madrid and Amsterdam as well.

Any new product categories in the pipeline this year?

Yes, we’re venturing into apparel. But the clothes will serve as a
backdrop for our accessories, which remain the core of our business. We’ve
also recently introduced silver and stainless steel jewelry in our
shops.

What was your sales volume in 2017 and what are your sales estimates
for 2018?

We closed FY 2017 with a total of 306 million euros in sales, and we
expect sales to grow by 20 percent this year.

This article was originally published in French at FashionUnited.fr.
Translated by Marjorie Van Elven.